In the art, installing a sound masking device in a hotel room, or other interior space, presents certain challenges in both new and retrofit installations.
In a new installation, e.g. new construction, unfinished walls and interior coverings provide the flexibility to freely install the sound masking device and the associated cables for power and user control. However, there are still costs associated with the installations.
In a retrofit installation, one or more of the following considerations can be factors. First, the cost of installing physical cabling to connect and/or power the system is much higher given the finished walls and ceilings.
Second, in a hotel application, the speaker component in a sound masking system or device needs to ideally be mounted or installed in the sleeping area for dispersing the sound masking emission and providing effective sound masking for the occupant(s) of the room. This can be problematic in a hotel room. The ceiling is typically not an option as many hotels are constructed with concrete ceilings and floors, and there is no suspended ceiling for installing the sound masking device or speaker component. Similarly, walls may not have sufficient depth or space for installing a sound masking device or speaker component. In addition, installing or running cables and power line or feeds may pose challenges and increased costs for retrofit installations. Even in rooms with bulkheads that run services, there still may not be sufficient space or clearance to run additional cables, power lines and/or install a sound masking device or a speaker component. Furthermore, installing the speaker component on existing furnishings or surfaces is non-trivial for both functional and esthetic considerations.
Third, a retrofit installation requires a power feed which may not always be available for the installation point. Having a free, unused mains outlet, proximate the installation location can be problematic, particularly, in older builds with limited outlets. Adding a new power source, e.g. a mains outlet, can be very expensive. Similarly, installing control cables for the sound masking device and/or speaker component can also be problematic and/or expensive for similar reasons.
For effective user control, the sound masking device controls should be conveniently located for the user, which may not be where the masking device is installed. In a retrofit installation, running the control cabling between the sound masking device, i.e. user control, and the speaker component can require extensive ‘fishing’ of cables between the components. Often this results in the user control module being installed in a user inconvenient location, e.g. on the wall or other surface beside the speaker component, which could be across the room from a convenient location for the user.
As a result, sound masking devices will not always be installed in the ideal location which results in the sound masking emission not be properly dispersed in the room or the full benefits of sound masking being realized. In other instances, sound masking device installation may not be considered at all due to installation and/or retrofit costs and expenses. Thereby eliminating the benefits of sound masking, particularly, in a potentially noise susceptible environments such as hotel rooms.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements in the art.